Grading the Arizona Cardinals top free agent moves
By Sion Fawkes
A.J. Green’s high-risk, high-reward
I was critical of the Cardinals when they signed A.J. Green. It was a foolish move, considering Curtis Samuel, at the time, was still available. Sources have stated Samuel has signed with Washington as of Friday, March 19th.
Like Watt, Green has struggled with injuries. Unlike Watt, his production has taken a nosedive in recent seasons. Green caught just 47 passes in 2020 and 45 percent of his targets. Sure, he only had a legit quarterback for about half of those games.
But still, Washington’s Logan Thomas had 72 receptions while playing with four different quarterbacks, including one who was taking online math classes at the beginning of the season. So it’s tough argue in Green’s favor here.
The Cardinals would’ve been better off coaxing another season out of Larry Fitzgerald if they wanted to sign an aging receiver. Unlike Green, Fitzgerald had 54 receptions and a 75-percent catch rate. Fitzgerald, as of the time of this writing still has not retired. However, it seems unlikely for the Cardinals to bring him back after Green’s signing.
Grade: D-: Green is too much of a risk at this point. He has just 93 receptions since 2018 and has appeared in just 25 of a possible 48 games. He won’t make defenders cringe if the Cardinals plan on using him to take some heat off of DeAndre Hopkins.